Wheat-Free Living

Friday, February 27, 2015

If you haven't already tried this, by God, it's something you need to try! It is AMAZING! I follow a wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free and soya-free diet, so finding a dessert I can eat can be tricky, and finding one that is tasty is even trickier! Well, this little tub from Natasha's living Food is just divine!

This little cake uses raw coconut oil, raw cacao and agave to make this melt in your mouth. The coconut oil melts as soon as it hits the mouth and releases all that flavour. And a good cacao bean leaves a long-lasting flavour. Then you get the kick of mint. If you like anything mint chocolate, you will really love this. It's very heavy, you'd manage to eat about half of the tub in one sitting. I really loved this dessert. I haven't seen it in any health shops, I ordered it online from Natasha's Living Food. This one get a 5 stars from me!! Looking forward to trying the other desserts.

Friday, February 13, 2015

So
the latest products I tried were Warburtons bread. They are wheat free, gluten
free and dairy free. I wasn't too sure what to expect as when so many key ingredients are taken out, it can often be a real let down! The
Newburn bakery has a good range of products, which includes fresh white and
brown loaves as well as rolls. All of which are fortified so that they are high
in calcium and provide a source of iron.

Warburtons
are known for their good bread anyway, so they've dedicated a separate
gluten-free bakery which apparently delivers the same taste, the only
difference is they’ve taken out the wheat, gluten and dairy. I say apparently because
I’ve never tried the “real” bread with my intolerances. They’ve also ensured that the
bread is nutritionally good, so the bread is low in salt, sugar and saturated
fat and contains under 90 calories per slice. So it can be enjoyed as part of a
healthy, balanced diet.Their seeded bread is a good
source of protein and is high in fibre, it also contains millet, linseed, poppy
and sunflower seeds.

I tried the white bread, brown
bread and seed breed as well as the rolls. I have to say the rolls were my
favourite by far. They were a good size, good texture and good flavour. They tasted
filling which I often think can lack from a wheat-free roll especially if it is
also dairy free. They had a "bread-like" texture and I like the seeds in them too. I found the bread best when it was toasted as it was a little
dry as bread. The white bread for the most part was good, but there were a good
few slices which had fallen apart or the crust was coming off, so that was a
little off-putting. The seeded bread was also very nice and great toasted. So,
my favourite were the rolls, followed by the seeded brown bread, followed by the
brown bread and lastly the white bread. I see they do wraps, so would be very interested in trying them if they are wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free wraps.

Warburtons are available all over
the UK, like Tescos, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado,and Morrisons and if you have
a look on their website, there is a where to buy page. Available to purchase in Tesco stores in Ireland. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter to keep up with their news. See their website for a full range of products and more info.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

My new-found love that's wheat-free and dairy-free too - Nobo ice-cream! I tried the Lemon flavour, my God, it was heavenly. This husband and wife team have made a really good product which they describe as frozen goodness. It's an ice-cream alternative, that has a similar texture and feel to ice-cream but it's made from just a few natural dairy-free ingredients. The ingredients in the lemon flavour are coconut milk, honey, avocado, fresh lemon juice, vanilla extract and fresh lemon oil. There's just a burst of lemon loveliness in your mouth! I love that the ingredients are healthy too. It's very much a feel-good product while also still a treat. My 3 year old loved it too! There are a range of flavours, like salted caramel which sounds interesting and mango and passionfruit which will be another explosion of flavour I'm sure. For more information on this product, see www.nobo.ie and a list of stockists Enjoy :-)

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

I've been missing in action quite a while but back on now and back reviewing products. I've also gone dairy-free for health reasons so the challenge to find good tasty food is really there now! So, if anyone recommends any good products to try - breads, cereals, goodies etc, please inform me.

Monday, October 7, 2013

I have to say I love "discovering" new food and certainly if it is wheat free, has nutritious benefits and tastes good. I tried raw chocolate from the Raw Chocolate Co They have a great range, from chocolate bars to chocolate berries, seeds, nibs, berries and powders. I tried the variety packs of raw chocolate goji berries and also the raw chocolate mulberries. Now, I'm a goji berry fan anyway as this small berry packs in a lot of punch nutrition-wise. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. I wasn't sure what to expect with the raw cacao, but a handful of either berry would fill you up and also suppress a sugar craving, they were really tasty. To make these the very best organic raw chocolate with mulberries and goji berries are carefully selected. They are coated with raw chocolate and then finished off with a light dusting of raw cacao powder. They are available in snack packs and re-sealable packs.

Now I see that chocolate raisins are part of the range. They are a "have to" try as I am a chocolate raisin lover-they are a little bit of naughty! The Raw Chocolate Co range is available in health shops in Ireland and the UK. For more info, see their website

Monday, September 30, 2013

Here's a link to a "Food From Around the World" magazine which includes an article from my good self on "The Spelt Debate" on page 7, as well as a recipe for my banana and walnut loaf on page 14. Enjoy :-)

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

The kind folks at BFree foods have some wraps to give away! Click on this video which is a great example of what happens when you go to the supermarket looking for gluten-free food!! Please comment below and share on Facebook and 2 lucky winners will be picked this Friday!

Friday, August 23, 2013

Bread, rolls, wraps and anything bread
related can often be a challenge in this wheat-free market. They are either too
stodgy, not filling enough, tasteless, too sweet or like cardboard! So, any
brand in this space has a real challenge. BFree was developed to bring tasty
bread that’s “good for you” to the market. Sometimes when you have a wheat or
gluten sensitivity, it’s just easier to avoid bread as you just can’t find the
right alternative. It’s also important to get the right nutrition when you are
following this type of diet. BFree have a great range of products that are both
wheat and gluten free. They have developed a recipe that replaces the gluten and wheat with natural ingredients.

I tried the range of products - soft white load, brown seeded loaf, brown seeded rolls, soft white rolls and multigrain wraps. I must say it's a great range. A good variety and they taste good. My favourite by far was the multi-grain wraps, simply because of the fact that I've never had a wheat-free and gluten-free wrap before!! It tasted great! No gluten, no wheat, no egg recipe. High in fibre, low in fat and only 99 calories each. At last I wasn't envious of others eating a wrap at lunchtime! And there's the possibility of fajitas etc, the options are endless. I also enjoyed the brown seeded rolls, they are a good size, texture and taste. There are lots of tasty recipes on the BFree website. Best of all, these are Irish products! Available in Dunnes, Tesco and Supervalu as well as some independent stores in Ireland. In Northern Ireland, products are available in Dunnes and ASDA, also in ASDA in the UK. All products are suitable for home freezing.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Byron Bay Cookie Company have developed a range of gluten-free and wheat-free cookies that taste just amazing! They are perfect to have with a cuppa for anyone who is looking to avoid wheat and/or gluten. Once I tried one flavour, I had to try another two!! I first tried the sticky date, ginger and walnut and thought it was really delicious. It's perfectly spiced with the ginger and the walnuts and dates give it a great flavour, it's nice and moist. I then tried the triple chocolate fudge one, which was very tasty too. Rich, dark chocolate with chunks of white and dark chocolate throughout. And then creamy fudge. This cookie was a little too rich for me, but don't get me wrong, it's delicious! My favourite cookie was the Strawberries and Clotted cream. Sinful!!! This was just amazing. Strawberries and thick rich clotted cream with chunks of white chocolate! It won't do anything for my waistline, but it was so worth it! I let someone who isn't wheat intolerant try the cookies too and they just couldn't get over how good they were! All cookies are approved by the Vegetarian Society and certified by Coeliac UK. Available in some cafes, independent health stores and large supermarkets.

Keep up the good work Byron Bay and put me on your Christmas present list!!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Heinz
launched a new gluten-free range of pastas and sauces back in March this year.
Called “Deliciously Gluten Free” range. The range includes three pasta
varieties – Penne, Macaroni and Spaghetti and three pasta sauces too – Tomato Frito,
Tomato & Basil and Tomato & Oregano. The pasta
comes in a large bag at 500g and the sauces in a 210g pack and is made from corn, potato and lupin flour. They have no artificial
colours, flavours or preservatives.

The
pasta sauces follow an authentic Spanish recipe, which is fresh onion and
garlic cooked in a little olive oil and then some of this infused oil is
blended with tomatoes as they cook, producing a rich flavour and aroma. I tried the Tomato Frito pasta sauce and thought it was very tasty and delicious heated and stirred into pasta. It had a good kick to it that sometimes packaged and jar food doesn't have. It tasted authentic with good flavour. I also tried the macaroni pasta, but unfortunately was really disappointed with it. I followed the cooking instructions on the pack, but the pasta came out gloopy and very starchy looking and was sticking together. It really put me off. Despite that the flavour was quite nice. Maybe it was just the macaroni and the other 2 pastas in the range may not be the same. Available in most large supermarkets.